Closure cap turning means



y 1949. w. B. JOHNSON 2,468,757

CLOS URE CAP TURNING MEANS Filed bet. 11, 1944 IN V EN TOR.

M7110 Joimw p A TToRNEy Patented May 3, 1949 CLOSURE CAP TURNING MEANS William B. Johnson, United States Army, Easley, S. 0.

Application October 11, 1944, Serial No. 558,235

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 2 Claims.

The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to closure caps and, more particularly, to means incorporated with the cap, permitting it to be spun or rotated in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The device finds special application in connection with sealing filling apertures of portable containers used by the armed forces.

I am well aware that tightening lugs or ears have been employed with closure caps to enable the caps to be rotated in either direction. With the type of lug now in use, it is necessary to utilize some type of tool such as, a flat bar or wrench handle in conjunction with the lugs to spin the cap. While this arrangement possesses considerable merit and has proven satisfactory under most circumstances, there have been many occasions when a suitable tool has not been handy or convenient, making it difiicult to remove or replace the closure cap. This condition has largely been due to the fact that the lugs have been formed with a relatively small bearing or contacting area, making it virtually impossible to rotate the cap with the thumb or fingers.

Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide a closure cap not subject to the above objections.

Another object is to provide a closure cap with tightening means so formed as to afford a relatively large contacting area.

A further object of the present invention is to provide tightening lugs for closure caps which will permit the cap to be rotated in either direction without the use of tools.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a closure cap of the type described which is simple in construction and operation and which can be cheaply and easily manufactured.

To accomplish the above and other important objects, the invention in general comprises a body having an annular sealing flange and a threaded portion for engaging the screw threads in the filling aperture of the container. A plurality of lugs are provided on the outer circumference of the annular flange and each lug extends outwardly, and then curves upwardly and downwardly to give a relatively large contacting or bearin area, permitting the body to be rotated without using a tool.

With the foregoing and other advantageous objects in view, the present invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of elements as will be more fully hereinafter set forth as shown in the attached drawings and finally enumerated in the attached claims.

Attention is invited to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like reference numerals designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a closure cap provided with my novel tightening lugs.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.

The closure cap comprises a circular plug-like body I', having a threaded portion 2 for engaging the threaded filling aperture of a container (not shown). An annular peripheral planar sealing flange 3 encircles the body I, and a resilient gasket 4 is adapted to be held between the flange 3 and a flange (not shown) on the container to seal the filling aperture.

A plurality of equidistant lugs, designated generally 5, extending above the upper plane surface, are provided on the outer rim or circumference of the flange 3 to enable the cap to be easily and readily rotated in either direction. While I have shown the use of four diametrically opposed lugs, it is to be understood that a more or less number may be employed. Each lug is preferably integrally formed with the flange 3 and has a portion 6 extending outwardly for a substantial distance from the periphery of flange 3, and being provided with inwardly tapering side edges 1. The lug curves upwardly, as indicated at 8, and then downwardly, as shown at 9, providing a relatively large manually graspable bearing plane Ill extending radially of flange 3 to provide leverage and facilitate manual application and removal of the cap.

By virtue of the above description, it would be appreciated that I have devised a closure cap which may be readily spun in either direction without the aid or assistance of a tool. Furthermore, the individual lugs are so formed as to be very sturdy in construction and there is little likelihood that they can be broken or otherwise damaged. The device is relatively simple in construction and can be manufactured at a very reasonable figure.

It will be fully understood that the foregoing description and accompanyin drawings cover only the general and preferred embodiment of the invention and that various changes in construction, proportion and arrangement of the elements may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rotary cap for closing the filling aperture of a container, comprising a circular plug-like body portion including a circular peripheral planar flange and a plurality of lugs integrally formed with the outer periphery of said circular planar flange and spaced substantially equidistantly from each other, each of said lugs extendillg outwardly for a substantial distance and upwardly from the outer periphery of said'flange and doubling back on itself to form a loop providing a relatively large manually engageable contact plane extending substantially radially of said flange to provide leverage and facilitate manual application and removal of said cap. v

2. A rotary cap for closing the filling aperture of a container, comprising a circular body portion including an annular planar flange and a plurality of lugs integrally formed with the outer periphery of said annular planar flange and spaced substantially ,equidistantly \from each other, each of said lugs extending outwardly for a substantial distance and upwardly from the outer periphery of said flange and doubling back on itself to form a loop providing a relatively large manually engageable contact plane extending substantially radially of said flange to provide leverage and facilitate manual application and removal of said cap.

WILLIAM B. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 689,896 Manierre Dec. 31, 1901 1,082,892 Milligan et al Dec. 30, 1913 1,150,596 Hollingshead Aug. 17, 1915 1,382,598 Kelly June 21, 1921 2,397,440 Schwartz Mar. 26, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 539,792 Germany Dec. 2, 1931 

